Goddess in Time by Tera Lynn Childs Read Free Book Online Page A

happening. My mom used to love this old movie about a time-traveling car and—”
    “There are fail-safes.” Troy points at the book. “According to the text, existing time lines are inviolable. Changing something in the past changes it now, but it still happened then.”
    “What does that even mean?” I demand.
    “I know, I had to read it three times to understand,” he says. “But basically, the primordial gods—the ones responsible for all the laws of nature and physics—didn’t want time travel to break the space-time continuum. They ensured that going back can’t change anything that happened between now and then. Only what happens from now on.”
    I shake my head. I swear, that boy has too much book learning sometimes.
    “You’re sure?” Phoebe asks, and I can tell she is really concerned that I will destroy the universe by chronoporting.
    “I’m sure,” Troy promises.
    “Think of it this way,” I say. “Why would the gods create a power that could unmake all their hard work?”
    She considers that for a moment, studies both me and Troy like she’s judging how much we believe what we’re saying, and then finally relaxes her shoulders.
    “This is insane.” She waves the book in the air. “Time travel?”
    “I know.”
    I try to snatch the book back from her, but she waves it out of reach.
    “That’s why I don’t want anyone else involved,” I explain. “It’s too dangerous.”
    “Troy’s involved,” Phoebe argues.
    I roll my eyes. “Like I could stop him.”
    Phoebe grins. “Well, you can’t stop me, either.”
    “Thank goodness,” Troy cheers and collapses onto my bed.
    “You don’t have to do this,” I tell Phoebe.
    “I know,” she replies. “But I’m going to.”
    She sets the book on my desk as she stands, and then pulls me into a hug.
    “For you,” she whispers, “and for Griffin.”
    I squeeze her back. She knows me well enough to realize that this isn’t just about me or my parents. It’s about Griffin’s parents, too.
    I should have known I could count on Phoebe. She cares about him as much as I do, so it’s probably only right that she’s helping. With a descendant of the goddess of Victory on my side, how can I fail?
    “What about a scuba tank?” Phoebe suggests.
    I shake my head. “Not enough air time.”
    “Besides,” Troy adds, “the atmospheric pressure would kill her long before she got to the seafloor.”
    Phoebe and I both gawk at him.
    “What?” He raises his hands in defeat. “I took physics.”
    I kick a pebble off the path as we cross campus from the library to Phoebe’s house. We spent the morning working on the next step of the quest—getting a silver seashell from Poseidon’s underwater palace. All morning.
    According to our research, the hard part isn’t getting the seashell—although I’m sure that won’t be a walk in the sea park. The gods don’t like making things easy for anyone, even their descendants.
    No, the hard part is actually getting there.
    The location of Poseidon’s palace is a carefully guarded secret. Which seems like overkill to me because it’s at the bottom of the seafloor and pretty much impossible to get to unless you belong there.
    All I know is that it’s somewhere at the bottom of the Mediterranean.
    “We could ask one of his descendants.” Troy chases after the pebble, kicking it back onto the concrete like he’s playing soccer.
    My only response is a glare. Troy knows how I feel about those dumber-than-rocks surfer morons. I’d rather drink the entire Mediterranean, boats and all, than try to have a conversation with one of them. One disastrous science-project partnership back in Level 7 was enough togetherness to last my lifetime. And about eight more.
    Phoebe ignores my irritation. “What about a submarine?”
    “What about a submarine?” I echo. “Do you have one hidden away in the harbor?”
    “No,” she says with a laugh. “Can’t we neofacture one?”
    “Neofact —” Troy